Mt. Vernon, OH (January 25, 2022) – GOAL Digital Academy’s Mt. Vernon lab was opened in August 2011 through a partnership with Jobs for Ohio’s Graduates and Knox County Job and Family Services (JFS). The original lab was manned by only one teacher, Gregg Snouffer, in a tiny room at the Mt. Vernon Salvation Armory. Mr. Snouffer enrolled the youth and worked in the lab tutoring all students. In 2015, GOAL had outgrown the Salvation Armory and began talking with Knox County JFS and community member, Mark Ramser, who assisted in GOAL’s move to the Escape Zone in 2016.
The Escape Zone was created out of the old vacant armory at 1 Mansfield Avenue, which had stood vacant for years. GOAL Digital Academy offered K-12 classes at the Escape Zone, as well as partnered with many different agencies in the building. GOAL offered live tutoring and state-mandated testing in the building, but ran into difficulty maintaining a secure internet connection for state testing in the Escape Zone. So, again community member and landlord, Mark Ramser, set out to help GOAL Digital Academy to find a new space.
The end result of the search brought the Mt. Vernon lab to its current location as a full-service live learning lab. This location, at 781 Fairgrounds Road, Mt. Vernon, opened in 2017. GOAL has grown over the years, and now employs over 4 full-time staff as well as other staff who work several days on-site. In fact, the founding Mt. Vernon teacher for GOAL Digital Academy, Gregg Snouffer, still teaches US History at the learning lab.
Mt. Vernon’s Learning Lab staff members:
Director of Partnership & Family Engagement, Jessica Caughlan
Three Teachers: Stephanie Frisch, Gregg Snouffer & Matthew Alexander
One Intervention Specialist: Wes Stauffer
One School Counselor: Heather Allen
Enrollment Specialist: Mendy Chard
Educational Advocate: Ryan Hontz
Mt. Vernon’s GOAL Digital Academy hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Parents or guardians interested in knowing more about GOAL can call 419-823-9117. Enrollment can be done online at https://www.goaldigital.org/.